kelley



Feb. 7, 1928.

E. M. KELLEY MATCH MAKING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 7, 1928. 1,658,527

E. M. KELLEY MATCH MAKING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ii .8. Z 46 47 n j 0 W W WWW o 66 w M l a6 X 2; Q5

on o /ZZ 26 Z7 10 Q 0 Q o o o o o Feb. 7, 1928. 1,658,527

E. M. KELLEY MATCH MAKING MACHINE Filed June 11, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I I 1 Q1 Patented Feb. 7, 1928 EDWARD MQKEILLEY, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

MICE-MAKING MACHINE:

Application filed June .11,

My said invention relates toconveyorsfor matchmaking machines and it is an object of the invention to provide a strong and; durable. conveyor which shall reduce to. a. minimum the waste of wood. now taking place in. match making; machines;

A further object; of the invention is to provide a conveyor in which the match sticks; may readily be positioned by coacting; parts of. the machine and wherein they are held more securely than is usual in match. machines; heretofore known. 7

Other objects of the invention-are to pro-.- videia conveyor in Whichthe rows of matches are close together and inwhich the matches may be-propenly entered and removed even if the parts are slightly out of time,,to.pro.-

. vide improved end pieces for-connectingthematch-holding bars of the conveyor to; the supporting chain, to provide match-holding bars for the conveyor such asmay; be manufactured: incomplete andoperative form! by the operation of die casting and to provide a chain which can move in abrupt curves.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a par-"thereof and: on which similarreference characters indicate similar parts,

Figure 1 is a perspective of" a portion of the conveyor chain. which is the subject of nay-invention, i

Figure 2, a top plan. ofzva portion of; said chain broken away at themiddle,

Figure 3, a bottom plan of'a similar portion, 7 i

Figure 4, a. vertical section crosswise of the bars,

Figure 5-, a. similar section showing the bars in a: different: position,

Figure 6, a perspective of the-end; piece connecting the bars to the supporting chains Figure 7 ,en. end: elevation" of a bar,

FigureS, a vertical sectionof a portion of the-machine, l i

Figure 9, an end elevation: of the parts; shown in. section in Figure 8:, and

FigurelO, ansectionat right angles toF-igure 8- with parts. broken away; to show the construction. more clearly.

In the drawings. reference character 10 indicates rods or bars which form parts of a conveyor chain, said chain including sprocketchains 1.1 and 12 at the sides and. end. pieces orcarrier links: 13iand l4 co11- necting the ends: or the bars. to. the sprocket chains which bars are; rounded: at: opposite is not uppermost.

1924:. Serial: No. 719,388.

thatadjacent bars may have rollin'gcontact WlthBiLCh other. In this way I am enabled to economize space by locating the bars in the closest possible relation to one another,

whereby also the rows of matches are closely juxtaposed. Each bar has a series of holes 1? extending through the bar and (30111111111.- nicating at their upper end with a cont-inn. ous furrowv or groove 17 of suflicient length to communicate with. all the holes and extending a little beyond these holes at the extreme ends of the series, the side of the bar. in which the furrow 17 is located being hereinafter designated the upper side tho the bar at times assumes positions during the travel of theconveyor wherein this side These rooves, as will. be apparent from consideration'of the drawings, are-so formed that if matches are inguided down: to the bottom of the groove and into theappropriate orifices. At their under side the bars are groovedat 18 less deeply than at 17, the furrows at this side being comparatively wide and shallow for a purpose hereinafter described.

Atleach end. of each rod thereis a. carrier link 1301 1a which forms a part of a link of one of the sprocket chains 11 and 12;

Aswill beseen. in Figure 1 the bars are reduced at their ends to provide a pair of tongues l9 and 20 at each end, one of which isafiush with the bar at one side while the plane passing through the axis of the bar otheris flush with the bar at the other side.

Each tongue is reduced atthe opposite side this also being to prevent them from interfaring with. the rolling engagement of each bar with its neighbors. rodsis such that they can readily be made by a die-casting operation for cheapness and accuracy of production, and they are prefverably made of an. alloy that isiheat-resistant andtough enough to withstand thestrain of the heavy belt and itsdriving means.

The carrier link of my construction, as.

olearlyishownin Figure 6 is provided with a body portion 21 and an S-shaped lateral The shape of the extension 22, the upper part of whichextends over the uppermost tongue on the bar, while the lower parallel part extends under the lowermost tongueand the middle parallel part lies between the tongues. It will be obvious that a very stron and reliable. joint is thus secured between -1e carrier link and its rod and one which will not easily be broken since onetongue of the rod may break off entirely without necessarily affecting the other. The body of the carrier link is perforated in two places, as indicated at 23, to receive a pin uniting it to a link 24 at the outer side of the corresponding sprocket chain which is otherwise of conventional construction, having rivets uniting the side'pieces 21 and 24, and spacers sur rounding the rivets between such side pieces. I may of course use chains of other conventional or desirable forms. The-links 13 and 14 have similar lateral extensions 22 and similar body portions 21 but the necks uniting said parts are longer on links 13 than on links 14 as will be evident from consideration of Figures 2 and 3, this being rendered necessary by the shape of the links of the sprocket chain which are alternately wide and narrow. Y

Figure 8 shows a section of a part of the machine including a settin drum 25 over which the chain passes, this setting drum having longitudinal ribs 26 adapted to fit in the furrows 18 at the rear side of the bars on the conveyor chain. The drum as may be seen in Figures 9 and 10 is rotary, being mounted on a shaft 27 having at one end a bevel gear 28 meshing with a bevel gear 29 on an oblique shaft 30 which may be driven in any conventional or desirable manner. This shaft also carries'sprocket gears 31 and 32 and a spur gear 33, the sprocket ears driving the side chains 11 and 12 and the spur gear drivingthe spur gear 34 which in turn drives a spur gear 35 on a shaft 36 carrying a pair of sprocketgears 37 and 38 also having engagement with the side chains 11 and 12.

The ribs 26 engage successively in the grooves or furrows 18 at the side of the conveyor bars here designated as the lower side, i. e., the side opposite that'at which the matches are inserted and ejected. It willbe evident that such engagement in addition to the function of limiting the movement of the match sticks in a positive and effective manner has the additional function of assisting to maintain the correct timing relation of the drum and the conveyor chain the ribs pulling the chain forward or back as necessary to maintain correct tuning. Un-

derneath the drum the machine is provided with match stick supplying means 39fof any conventional or (18511131318 character, a the means here illustrated being such as is wellknown in the art,

Just before the new match sticks are supplied the matches must be removed from the conveyor and this is done by means of unching mechanism operating on the chain. S uch punching mechanism consists of a re" ciprocating head 40 connected by a rod 41 to a rock arm 42 on a rock shaft 43. The head -40may be mounted to slide on supports 44 provided on the framework of the machine or may be supported in any other convenient manner. At its forward end it carries a block 45 here shown as secured to the head by pins 46 and the block is there provided with a series of projecting pins 47 equal in number to the holes in the series extending the length of one of the conveyor bars. It may be noted that such a bar within the limits ofmy invention mayhave a number of series of holes and may be correspondingly widened or may be changed in other respects and that the setting mechanism instead of cutting the match sticks from a block in the manner of the devices here partially illustrated may cut them out of veneer or may receive them from a hopper and insert them into a conveyor or equivalent device provided if necessary with such setting means as here shown or with setting ill) means of different character all as may he suitable to the particular case.

The pins 47 on the reciprocating head are guided in orifices of a member 48 secured to the fixed frame of the machine and the rockshaft 43 moves in such timed relation with the step-by-step feeding mechanism for the conveyor chain as to cause the row of pins 47 to engage the inner ends of finished 1 matches on the chain while the chain is at in Figure 8 and substantially in a manner well-known to those skilled in the art.

An advantage of my machine resides in the fact that the furrow at the rear side of the conveyor bars has sloping sides in rest and eject them in the manner illustrated happens in the punching apparatus now em ployed. Similarly as above explained the sticks can find their way into the holes when the machine is out of time, instead of breaking and going to waste. the hopper type where square sticks made of veneer wood are fed through a hopper,

then guided into grooves, and then forced In machines of into the holes of a plate or other conveyor element by small punches or ejectors which cannot be larger than the grooves or the size of the sticks being manufactured, it has been found that-theyare not held with satisfactory firmness, this being due to the fact that the ejectors are slender and weak and it is impossible to force the stick into the hole of the plate very tight. The sticks are held in by their four corners and when they pass over the heater block before receiving the paraffin, the wood shrinks and the sticks drop out causing a great deal of waste. With conveyor elements made in the shape of the bars of my device the sticks could be forced into smaller holes because of the easy entrance. Being thus forced into smal er holes they would be compressed to a greater degree and therefore held more securely so that the loss would be correspondingly decreased.

Various modifications, in addition to those iscussed, will be obvious to those skilled in the art and therefore I "do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a match machine, a setting drum, a conveyor having rows of holes arranged parallel to the axis of the drum, furrows conmeeting the bottom ends of the apertures in a row, and ribs on the drum fitting in said furrows, substantially as set forth.

2. In a match machine, a conveyor bar having a row ofholes, a furrow at the un der side of the bar intersecting said holes, and setting means fitting in said furrow, substantially as set forth.

3. In a match machine, a rotary setting drum, a conveyor having parallel bars, a longitudinal series of holes in each bar, longitudinal furrows at the under sides of the bars each intersecting the holes of a series, and ribs on the drum fitting in said furrows, substantially as set forth.

In a match machine, a conveyor embodying a series of bars, a row of holes in each bar, punching means having a pin for each hole, and a furrow connecting the holes of a row said furrow having sides inclined toward and merging into said holes to guide said pins, substantially as set forth.

5. A conveyor for match machines embodying side chains, apertured cross-bars, and carrier links connecting the bars to the chain each carrier link having a flat body extending lengthwise of the chain and an S-shaped lateral part for attachment to a cross-bar, substantially as set forth.

6. In a conveyor chain for match ma.- chines, side chains, a unitary apertured bar having protruding tongues at each end, and carrier links each having a part adapted to be secured to a tongue and another part adapted to be secured to one of the side chains, substantially as set forth.

7. In a conveyor chain, a bar having a plurality of flat tongues at each end extending parallel to each other and to the plane of travel of the link, and a carrier link embodying means for securing it to a side chain of the conveyor and means for securely engaging said tongues, substantial- 1y as set forth.

8. In a conveyor chain, 'a bar having flat parallel tongues at its ends, and a carrier link embodying means for securing it to a side chain of the conveyor and an S-shaped projection snugly embracing each of said tongues, substantially as set forth.

9. In a match machine, a conveyor having rows of holes to receive match sticks, and furrows on opposite faces of the conveyor connecting the holes in such rows said furrows having sides merging into the holes, substantially as set forth.

10. In a conveyor chain for match machines, side chains, a bar having protruding tongues at each end, and carrier links each having a flat plate adapted to be secured to a side chain and another part at one side of the said plate adapted to be secured to a tongue at one end of the bar, substantially as set forth.

11. In a match machine, a conveyor having bars with holes to receive match sticks, means for supplying match sticks thereto, a rotary setting drum at the opposite side of the conveyor from said supplying means, said drum having grooves in which the bars fit, side chains on the conveyor, and sprockets spaced from the ends of the setting drum engaging said chains to drive the same, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Wilmington, Delaware this 3d day of June, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-four.

EDWARD M. KELLEY. 

